Nobody buys a verdict
Manufacturers sometimes send hardware, and I say so in the video when they do. What they don't get is any say in what I conclude, any preview of the script, or any right of veto. If a machine has annoyed me, that goes in.
About
Your friendly
neighbourhood
maker.
Hey, I'm Josh. I make videos about 3D printing and maker tech, and I build free tools for fellow makers.
The short version
From documentary cameras to 3D printers
For about twelve years I was a wildlife and science documentary camera and drone operator. This involved spending a lot of time in remote locations and extreme environments, filming animals and landscapes for the BBC, Netflix, Disney, Apple, PBS and National Geographic and several others.
3D printing arrived through the back door. I was trying to work out how to film deep sea squid, which requires housings and rigs that nobody sells because almost nobody needs them. Printing my own was the only sensible route. Printers haven't left my life since.
After an accident (falling 300ft down an alpine mountain), that career is now a collection of wonderful memories, and my channel and workshop are now my primary focus. 3D Revolution is where the two halves meet: a documentary maker's habit of actually investigating something, pointed at 3D printers, laser cutters, scanners and the general pile of maker tech that arrives on the bench.
The channel runs on tutorials, reviews and longer multi-part series. Alongside it I build free tools, most notably Primed3D, which lets any multi-material printer produce full-spectrum colour from three filaments. I'd rather push what existing hardware can do than tell everyone to buy something new.
How this works
Where the reviews come from
Reviews are only worth anything if you know how they were made. So, plainly:
I turn a lot of it down
Companies offer expensive equipment free of charge fairly regularly. A good number of those offers arrive with strings attached: cover it a particular way, hit these talking points, let us see the video before it goes out, or give us approval over what you say.
I say no to those, and I've said no a lot, including to kit I'd genuinely have liked to keep. If someone else controls what I'm allowed to conclude, the review isn't worth making and it isn't worth your time watching.
Things get used, not unboxed
A printer that's produced one benchy has told me nothing. Kit stays on the bench through real projects and real failures before I'll put a view on it, which is why reviews take a while to appear.
Affiliate links
Some links I include on this site and in video descriptions are affiliate links. I get a small kickback if you use those links when placing an order, but they don't affect the price you pay. This helps support my channel and projects. Full explanation here.
Support keeps it independent
Patreon and channel memberships are what make it possible to turn down the kind of arrangements that would compromise the above. How that works.
Also from the workshop
Free tools for makers
Primed3D is the big one, a browser-based painter that gets full-colour prints out of a handful of filaments. It's free, open source, and runs entirely on your own machine.
Get in touch
The quickest way to reach me is a comment on a recent video. I read them, and it means other people with the same question find the answer too.
For anything that needs a private word, email me directly.
For business enquiries and review requests, please get in touch through any of the social accounts in the footer.